Shreds of Mist
by Zealak Silverdirk
Summary: A young female, of the Silverwing colony, discovers something that she has never encountered before. With her egotistical friend, she must destroy the creature that lingers in the fog, or the life of every bat will be jeopardized. Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

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**Shreds of Mist**

The Beginning

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_I've always been told that I was different, but, not a good kind of different. My mother warned me about getting mixed up in things that did not concern me. She'd tell me "if you keep meddling in others' business, you'll not have enough sense left to keep a pigeon alive." Of course, I never listened. _

_Like any young bat, I never really cared about the consequences of my decisions, and usually, the elders were quick to root out the culprit of any problem. It was me. They knew it, and I knew it. I thought that was enough. But, like always, it wasn't._

_I always heard "you need to learn _responsibility_." How could I? I could only barely understand what it meant, I was so caught up in everything else. From the ways of a little caterpillar, to the strange mesmerizing glare of the sun. It was my hobby, really. An observer. See everything that goes on and uncover the mysteries behind it, that kind of thing. _

_I always looked forward to twilight, when all the birds would be framed against the giant scarlet orb, returning home to their nests, or the leaves glowing with intense colour as the sun began to dip lower, leaving behind traces of lavender, pale blue and violet in soft hues and golden-bellied wisps of cloud._

_But, of course, everything must come to a headway, and I met it soon after, on a spring night that changed my life and the course of every other bats' at Tree Haven. Everything started with the simplest of actions. The most innocent thing became a death plunge that almost succeeded in destroying every creature that lived in the forest. It was deadly and unstoppable, yet simple. Shreds of mist._

_oooooooooooooooo_

"Look at how fast I can fly, you old prissy-wings!" Phashindei, another one of the young males of Tree Haven called over. He had a dark coat, almost completely black, though down his back was a stripe of silver that seemed like he had painted it there. Not yet at the age where he could leave the Tree, for now, he was satisfied with mockery. Mocking Myste that is.

"Prissy-wings, yourself, Wrinkleface!" Myste called back angrily, charging at the other young bat, forcing him to carve a sharp turn almost into a tree. She was an observing, quiet, though fierce Silverwing; her appearance similar to most of the other bats, if it was not close on to completely silver, swirled in with black fur here and there.

Phashindei was always baiting everyone, sending out the worst comments he could think of, to get one equally bad. That was his hobby. He usually never let a single word go unnoticed by any bat; he sent insults flying helter-skelter to any newborn he came across (he knew enough not to insult the older females, the main occupants of Tree Haven).

'Egotistical!' the single word blared in Myste's mind, though she knew that yelling that back at him would have no effect, as she was really the only young bat who knew what 'egotistical' meant.

Careening and cavorting about like the spriteliest of young ones, Phashindei snapped up a dozen mosquitos that another young bat was about to gorge upon. When an angry shout passed his way, he brushed it off with a casual, "You weren't fast enough. Speed's what you need."

Myste thought that last line, was _extremely _stupid, but she didn't say anything, at least he was off her back for now. She had hoped to somehow avoid Phashindei, but some things were just impossible.

Just as keeping Phashindei off of your back for more than a few hours was impossible, it was also impossible for her not to watch the sun go down. It was something she enjoyed the most. Everything was awake during that time. Whether it was insects, moose and deer, or any manner of bird, everything was awake. It made her feel whole with the forest. Everything in its proper place.

But, something she had never seen before, beckoned her away from her usual sight-seeing. It was pale, almost invisible; wrapping the trees on the ground in a thin layer of its silk-like scarf. It was beautiful and dangerous looking all in one.

Of course, Myste could not help herself. She wanted to know everything that went on in this part of the northern forest, and she wasn't about to let the most ominous thing she had ever seen in this forest hold her back. She was determined to find out _everything_.

Gliding down slowly, in tight spirals to keep her on course with the fog, Myste peered and squinted at it, trying to coax any possible shapes out of the thick white blanket. Nothing would come, and, to lower her spirits even more, a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"What're you looking for? A new place to hide from my_superiority_?" Phashindei smirked. He knew he was being a complete nuisance, which was what kept him going.

Myste rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the other bat. "Don't you have somewhere else to be? Maybe insulting the more popular bats here?"

"Naw, trying to insult Griffin is no fun, he's always chatting with Luna about their adventures in the Underworld of Cama Zotz," he replied, brushing away the thought with annoyance.

Knowing she had found a weak spot in Phashindei's supposedly impenetrable armour of self-confidence, Myste smiled inwardly. "Why? Are you mad you didn't get to go along and impress Luna?"

If the silver-backed male could have blushed angrily, he would have. Outraged and still trying to retrieve his injured ego, he sputtered back, in a weak attempt. "No! Are you mad you didn't get to describe everything there in your_pretty colours_ with Griffin?"

"Nope. I prefer what I have here. Even this thick... blanket," Myste shrugged indifferently (the other young bats did not yet know what fog was). Griffin was only a hybrid Silverwing with a strange past. She didn't care about past, the present was what she lived for.

Hoping to lose Phashindei, Myste banked deeper into the fog, only to find that she was near the ground and almost completely visible.

"What are you doing?" he called, flying just above her.

"Do you even know how to leave a decent bat alone, Phashindei?!" she hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but she could not help it. He had enough nerve poking fun at her, it was worse when he followed her while insulting. A deadly multi-tasking.

He flinched visibly, obviously not expecting such a reply. Faltering in flight, he decided that she had had enough of his insults, and he departed from the mist, leaving her to her own anger.

'Insensitive! That's what you are!' Myste thought to herself. She knew she could be, and this proved it. 'Oh well, it's only Phashindei. He bounces back, but this might not.' Staying low to the ground, the Silverwing followed the mist, though she had no way of knowing how far she was straying from her home.

_oooooooooooooooo_

"Phashindei, where is Myste? I know you were insulting her last," Fern, a female about two weeks younger than the silver-striped male asked. It had been at least an hour since her friend's disappearance, and she was becoming worried. Myste would never do something that stupid. Right?

"I don't know. I left before she started moving around down there, in that... whatever," he answered, not even turning his head when Fern called over to him.

"You'd better go look for her then, or you'll have the elders to deal with!" Fern threatened.

"What?! But, I didn't make her leave!" Phashindei whirled around indignantly.

"Well, nobody else knows that except you. And the elders'll have your wings when I tell them what you did," Fern sneered. Sometimes, it paid to be obnoxious.

"You're a pink-bellied newborn, Fern!" He didn't care if that was one of the worst things to call another bat, Fern deserved it. Calling him an accessory to possible desertion indeed!

"Maybe I am, but you'll be worse if you don't go looking for Myste!" Fern glided away, obviously not caring for a reply.

Mumbling unintelligible phrases angrily, Phashindei flew beneath the fog, remembering that was the last place he'd seen her. 'I'd better get some extra insects after this useless escapade,' he thought to himself.

_oooooooooooooooo_

'Where am I? I don't remember ever coming here,' Myste looked around, still flying low. She was over a huge carpet bog, moss and plantation covering the surface of the sukcing mud that could lead a heavier creature to their death.

A sudden growl caught her attention, and she flared her wings forward to better capture the sound. 'Don't say anything, Myste.'

_"Here you are..."_something whispered in the gloom of the misty bog. It was almost impossible to pick up, yet clear as a foghorn on the ocean breeze of a sunny day.

'Who are you?' Myste said in her mind. Not seeing what this thing was... it was far worse than actually seeing it. Tears were beginning to well in her black eyes, unbidden, but welcome under the circumstances of fear.

Before anything else could be said or done, Phashindei cut through the fog, his wings pumping backwards madly as he tried to slow himself down. He had probably been flying fast to catch up, and braked suddenly when he saw Myste.

"What's up?" he asked, noticing the unfamiliar gleam of tears. He had only ever seen another young bat cry when they had badly sprained their wrist, disabling their flight for weeks.

In a little over a whisper, Myste answered him. "Something... is out here. I heard it speak."

Opening his mouth to blare out sound, Phashindei could see nothing except Myste in front of him, the fog surrounding them, and the carpet bog beneath. "There's nothing here," he shook his head dismissively, his voice seemingly small in the choking fog.

_"How wrong you are..."_ the phantom spoke again.

Without further hesitation, both Silverwings took off like twin streaks of silver lightning, leaving the eerie bog in silence once more.

_"I will come again, and this time, no bat will stop me."_

_**To be continued...**_

_oooooooooooooooo_

_My first Silverwing story, second writing for the category. I'm quite astonished with how the first chapter turned out. Not bad for someone like me with bad introductions._

_I looked over this while I was thinking, and I actually had to delete some things near the end that I was going to add, they freaked me out so much. Luckily, I was able to pull something together that wouldn't scare me out of my skin every time I sat down to write it (call me a coward, whatever...)._

_Here are a few things on pronunciation. "Myste" is plain "Mist", with better spelling, and "Phashindei" is "Fa-shin-die", which sounds a little African, which was my point._

_Anything to point out that may have improved this chapter? Did I miss some words, spell something wrong? Let me know, I want to hear from you on some healthy criticism! What did you like as well, I want to see what is the strongest part of the story right now so that I do not have to keep building on something that doesn't need improvement._

_Zealak Silverdirk_


	2. Chapter 2

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II

_Disbelief_

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_"What _was_ that Myste? Something you made up to get back at me for earlier?" 

The two bats had arrived back at Tree Haven breathless and scared. Phashindei and Myste had just landed when the silver-striped male began to speak.

"Believe me, if I wanted to get back at you, I'd just call you egotistical," Myste replied, also breathless, digging her claws deep into the tree's bark. The two were exhausted, and Myste had flown farther and faster than she had ever in her short life.

"Egotistical? What's that?" Phashindei asked, tilting his head slightly in bewilderment.

"Never mind, that's not important right now. What_ is_ important is figuring out what that _thing_ was," Myste's brow creased as she realized a split second after she had said it, what they must do.

"Go back, you mean? Are you insane? That thing out there could have killed us, and you _want_ to go _back_?!" his eyes darted about suspiciously, almost as though he was expecting the phantom to sneak up and devour the two of them right at that moment.

"I see you took my advice, Phashindei," Fern appeared suddenly in front of the two, laughter and a sly grin evident on her young features. "Even if you did chase Myste away, you at least got her back here."

"What are you talking about?" Myste asked, a frown masking her fear from earlier. "Chasing me away. And what's this about _advice_?"

"Fern wanted me to go back and get you because she accused me of helping you leave. She threatened me with elders' counsel, so I figured I'd rather not get caught up in that over your silly little temper," Phashindei replied calmly, brushing the matter away like an annoying tick.

Myste glared at him when the stripe-backed male mentioned her "_silly little temper_". She suspected he hadn't meant it to sound so rude and mocking, but the Silverwing female had been wrong before. "Fern, stop being your arrogant self. You're no better than he is," Myste cocked her head, using it as a pointer to indicate Phashindei.

"Gee Myste. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were standing up for Phashindei," Fern scowled darkly, the reaction she had expected of the young silver female (which was taking sides with Fern, of course), had not come. Myste knew that Fern liked Phashindei quite well. Of course, this was all from her experience in observation, so she wasn't about to say anything, just in case she was wrong or risked embarrassment.

That was something she vowed upon. She never shared the information that she had gathered, unless it was extremely urgent. Most everything she forgot about, if it was not so special, but Fern's attraction to Phashindei was right up there with the sunset. Top secret importance.

"If you two newborns are done squabbling, I'd like to get in some hunting," Myste rolled her eyes annoyedly. The two were constantly arguing, if they weren't insulting each other first.

"I'll go with you, Myste. Wouldn't want Phashindei losing you again," Fern smirked over Myste's head at the silver-striped male. Impudently, she stuck out her tongue at him, and she was greeted with an angry hiss.

Not knowing what was going on (which was odd for her), Myste decided that the two could settle this petty fight on their own, and could leave her out of it. She didn't want to have to take sides on something stupid like this.

Stretching out her wings, she knocked the other two off the branch, Fern and Phashindei were too close for her to start a comfortable take-off. With little regard for what indignant yelps came from behind her, Myste flapped into the trees, leaving behind the others. It was their problem, not hers.

_oooooooooooooooooo_

"But, you've got to believe me, Ariel. You're the chief elder, and you _have_ had some experience in this. At least you _know_ some bats who have," Myste pleaded.

After leaving Phashindei and Fern, she had flown into the trees to hunt out supper peacefully. Then, when her belly was full, she had examined the rising sun for a short time, remembering to squint with the harsh light piercing her retina. Before going to roost inside Tree Haven, Myste had decided to visit Ariel, Griffin's grandmother and the chief elder, if she knew anything about the creature.

"But that is not enough, Myste. Look, I know your intentions are good, but, you have to learn that you can't fix everything. That call you heard in the fog out there, it could have been anything, including your overactive imaginations," Ariel reasoned with the headstrong female.

"No. It couldn't be imagination, how did we _both_ hear the voice. The fog must be hiding what's really there. You've got to believe me."

"Myste. You know that whatever is out there is something bad, and should not be meddled with, so don't go looking for trouble that could possibly harm every bat of Tree Haven," Ariel dismissed her with a flick of her wrinkled wings.

"But that gives me all the more reason to stop it!" Myste yelled hoarsely, desperately trying to gain the permission she needed. If Phashindei wasn't going to come along, she would at least need some help.

"Your motives are pure, but you can't. You just can't Myste. Your mother would not want any harm to come of you, and neither would the rest of us," Ariel shook her head, leaving Myste in no doubt that it was time for her to leave.

With tears welling in her eyes, desperation filled her, begging her to find what that thing was and destroy it. Do _something _to keep Tree Haven safe from the terrible force that was lingering so close by.

'If Phashindei won't help me, and the elders won't listen, then I'll just have to do this myself.' Myste knew as soon as she said "by myself", that she never could do it. Maybe Ariel was right, maybe it was time for her to stop poking her nose into everything that came about.

_oooooooooooooooooo_

"Puh-lease, Myste. Can't you just accept that we imagined it?" Phashindei asked. Myste had been bugging him constantly ever since he had awakened.

"That's a lie, and you know it. Come on, do you want to impress Luna or not?" Myste asked, using the same sly tactic she had used not long ago.

"Yes! I mean- no, but-!" the male Silverwing stuttered, at a loss for words. Myste smirked in satisfaction, knowing that she had undoubtedly pulled him in.

"Alright! I'm just helping so you'll stop pestering me every minute of the night!"

"Well then, let's get going. I don't want any of the elders seeing where we're off to, especially after I spoke with Ariel before getting to sleep," Myste replied, taking to the air and zooming through the knothole, one of Tree Haven's entrances.

The sun was still far above the horizon, but it was losing light fast. Dew was still on the leaves, which the sun's rays had failed to reach. The trees were framed in their usual radiance, which now seemed ordinary and dull to Myste, now that she had a secret mission to accomplish.

"Hurry up, Phashindei, if you fly any slower we'll make a full stop," Myste called playfully over her shoulder.

The Silverwing male yawned, but I'm tired, Myste. The only reason I'm awake is because you were poking me with a twig."

"I'm tired, Myste," she copied, making her voice sound truly wimpy and pathetic. "Honestly, get some spine, Phashindei."

"Well, my _spine_ usually comes with nightfall," he retorted.

"Then, your spine should already be here," Myste beckoned to the last rays of sun clawing the horizon, the blackness of night devouring its weakening efforts. "Now. Let's go," she emphasized the last two words seperately.

Grunting with the exertion of lifting his tired wings up and down again, Phashindei followed Myste, however unwillingly. "We've got every reason to turn back, Myste. The fog, as you called it, might not even be there anymore."

"It's not just want I call it, it's what it is, and you'd know that if you stopped laughing at everyone for ten seconds. Anyways, who knows if that fog is natural or not. What it was hiding wasn't, so why couldn't the fog be there for the purpose of keeping that creature hidden?"

"All I'm saying is, don't get your hopes up," Phashindei answered, sounding more like an elder instructing a newborn than an equal.

"Don't you give me that superior tone. I'm just as good as you," Myste pulled on ahead without looking to see if the silver-backed male could keep up. She began to pump her wings harder as she saw Phashindei gained her side.

Soon, it became a full-out race, a battle of will to see who could find the fog wisp first, then, just to prove who was the faster flyer. In the end, Phashindei gained the last inch, hollering out when he saw the tell-tale sign of the clouded mixture.

"There it is, I won!" he chuckled as he saw Myste scowl ever so slightly. "You were beat by the best, don't feel too bad."

"I don't even know how to respond to that kind of outrageous statement, Phashindei," Myste replied flatly, taking more interest in the fog wisp than his general insults. "Hopefully it leads to the same spot as last time."

"_Hopefully_ it leads somewhere far away from that bog."

"Oh, so _now_ you're turning into a pink-bellied newborn, and we haven't even got there yet. Nice move, oh _superior one_," Myste smiled inwardly. Finally a good insult that he could understand at the right time.

"Hey, I never said I wasn't coming along."

"Well, you didn't exactly deny the fact that you weren't scared out of your fur," Myste countered.

"Whatever, let's just get there and get out in one piece, Myste," Phashindei sighed heavily. Sometimes, it didn't pay to have natural statements backfire on you harder than a real insult.

Staying just above the mist, the two Silverwings peered to the ground and sideways, looking for the change in landscape they had noticed before. After an hour or so of confused flight, they finally found the bog from the previous night.

"This is what we went looking for. Now that we've found it, we can go home," Phashindei stared indifferently at the fog that covered the sucking ooze, thickly blanketed in the fog of warm summer days and cool summer nights.

"Come on, just take a look around. _Please_ Phashindei. You know I wouldn't beg you if it wasn't something important," Myste turned to face him, hoping that she would have a companion during her exploration.

Glancing back and forth between the way home, the fog and Myste, he finally decided to come along. "Well... only if this leads to something important. If I'm not interested, then don't expect me to come back."

Both dipped gingerly beneath the enveloping fog, expecting something terrible to happen as soon as they could see the carpet of moss which thinly covered the danger which lurked underneath its innocent coating. It looked the same as it had the night before, eerily peaceful, nothing out of place.

"_Ahh... you have returned again..._" the same voice from before echoed around the two bats.

"We're not afraid of you! Why don't you show yourself, instead of cowering behind this fog!" Phashindei snapped, dabbling a few insults behind his request.

"_That would be too easy_. _But, you can not get rid of fog, Silverwing. It spreads when and where it wants, and I am the fog you see around you_," the creature's voice was filled with laughing scorn.

Phashindei gave Myste a look that said, "Okay, _now_ I'm imterested."

_To be continued..._

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_Again, another chapter. It probably isn't as great as the first one, but I tried. Thank you to_ Omei _and_ Pantherstar_ for reviewing, I greatly appreciate it. Hopefully this chapter did not disappoint. That would be a bad thing for me._

_Anything to point out/compliment/correct? Anything at all? Any suggestions? Remember, without reviews this story won't get far. We all need support, and this story can't run on it's own._

_Zealak Silverdirk_


	3. Chapter 3

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III

Story

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"What are you?" Myste called into the gloom surrounding the bog. She was tired of not being able to see this creature. It really was getting ridiculous.

"What am I?" the voice crooned sarcastically. "I believe the correct term is 'who'. I am nothing and yet something. Here on business."

Phashindei's brows knitted together in irritation. "Cut the drama, fogbrain!" he shouted, his eyes casting about for a familiar shape in the fog.

The white blanket swirled into the shape of a large bat- or was that a trick of the eye? The voice that issued forth seemed even more intimidating, and it sounded like it was swallowing boulders.

"I am what you see- a servant of Cama Zotz. He is not yet finished with your colony- or the world, for that matter. You may say that you Silverwings are a bit of a test trial."

"For what?" Phashindei couldn't help but ask.

The fog roiled with a hiss of laughter. "World domination, of course."

Myste and Phashindei looked at each other, their eyes portraying the same thought. 'What now?' Both bats had only limited knowledge about Cama Zotz, and all their information came from two bats who had been newborns at the time. Despite this, they had head enough to understand.

"Zotz cares not for the humans, only the bats. I, Scorn, am his mouthpiece to the world."

Myste couldn't help but cut in. "But aren't the living the only things permitted here?"

The voice seemed to pause dramatically before answering. "I was wondering when you would ask that, female. Zotz has spent millennia attempting to reach the surface and gain control of the Upper World. He convinced the Vampyrum to follow him the customary sacrifices at the times of the lunar eclipse, hoping to reach one hundred sacrifices before the sun re-emerged.

"When the stone of sacrifice was destroyed, Zotz created the Underworld mines, using captured bats and Vampyrum traitors to chisel their way through to the surface. So far, this plan has proven extremely unsuccessful, and, for now, has been discontinued.

"One simple idea has created me. A near-dead Vampyrum bat came diving into our world calling out Zotz' name in a blind frenzy. He spouted much more nonsense than truth, but gave us vital information.

"He created putrid experiments on bats- dead and alive- to create his truth. When he had finished his lesson, I was given permission to take his life for myself, so that I could return to the land of the living as you see me now."

"So you're alive, right?" Phashindei interrupted.

"Certainly not like you perishable creatures. I shall be here always."

The word "always" worried the two bats. This thing wasn't temporary as they had first thought. It would stay until the world was enveloped.

A sudden chill seized Phashindei's bones, and he was unable to shake it. His senses were on overdrive, telling him to leave right away. He wasn't about to disobey his instinct, and he promptly began to lift away from the fog. Myste was quick to follow suit. She had heard far more than enough, and she was not about to stay there alone.

The fog stayed eerily silent as the two bats frantically pumped their wings to get away from this _thing_ and back to the safety of their colony.

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oooooooooooooooooooo

Neither Myste nor Phashindei were willing to stop or even slow down until they could see the other Silverwings out hunting, but it wasn't the same light-hearted race they had flown not that long ago.

A sturdy oak bough appeared just to their right, and Myste felt it was an extremely welcome sight- her lungs were screaming for air and she was beginning to feel light-headed for lack of oxygen. Taking a crash landing, she skidded on the tree bark clumsily and nearly flew off, save for the firm clawhold she had established on the branch.

In the end, she was sprawled upside-down on the bough, her head facing the ground and her wings spread-eagled for balance. Myste was completely exhausted and breathing as though she had been flying at top speed to reach Stone Hold.

Phashindei hadn't fared any better. He had somehow missed a proper landing and turned around, the only thing that kept him from smashing into a different tree were his stable front claws that had kept a firm hold in the bark. His arms were shaking with the effort of dragging himself onto the top of the branch. Myste soon came to join him, and the two lay panting for breath for a full minute before anyone spoke.

"Still think the elders were right?" Myste managed.

"What do you suggest we do now?" he asked. He was still breathing erratically.

Myste sounded almost cheery. "Find a mystic, of course." She only hesitated to take another breath.

Before any more conversation could pass between the two, Fern alighted on a branch just above the two bats.

"What's the matter with you two? You look like you've just seen a ghost," she chuckled to herself, unaware of how close to the mark she was.

'You could call it that,' Myste rolled her eyes to look up at her best friend. "Of course not! We're just a little winded from a race."

Phashindei nodded frantically, and it appeared as though he were shivering. He quickly shrugged it off before Fern could notice.

"And you guys couldn't have invited me?" she pouted.

Myste shook her head. "Personal vendetta."

"What?" Fern blinked. Just like Myste to say something like that. "Anyways, you'll never guess what just happened. Falstaff and Oakdell had a contest to see who could eat the most beetles. Obviously, Falstaff won, but he managed somehow to eat eighty-two. It's amazing how much he can shovel in his mouth."

'You'd think by the way they all acted they were newborns, and not into their second spring,' Myste thought to herself. Typical. She let it slide this time and said nothing.

It was about ten minutes before Fern realized that no one else was talking.

"Hey, what's up? What'd I miss?"

"Oh, nothing important," Phashindei replied quickly. It was Myste's turn to nod along.

"Well, alright." Fern still felt that she had missed out on something. She looked to the horizon as a way to change the subject. "The sun's coming up. I guess we should head back now."

"Good idea." Myste took off from her awkward position on the branch and followed after Fern. "Come on, Phashindei Punywing!" she called back.

Phashindei made no attempt at a retort as he pumped his wings quickly to catch up with the two females. An odd occurrence for someone who always had something smart to say.

__

oooooooooooooooooooo

Eventually, when every bat was well settled in for the day and most were asleep, Fern turned to her friend. Myste had already begun to doze and really wasn't in the mood to talk. "Myste!" Fern whispered.

The Silverwing female made a feeble attempt at a grunt and slowly opened one eye. Sometimes, sharing a roost with your best friend was the worst thing you could ever do. It was times like these that Myste really wished she were deaf, if only to avoid her friend's morning prattle. "What?" she mumbled.

Fern wasted no time in expressing what was on her mind. "Where were you and Phashindei earlier?"

Myste rolled her eyes. "I already told you. Out racing- I won," she lied. It was for Fern's own safety that Myste said nothing about Scorn. Her friend had a way about getting worked up over everything.

"Well... since when did you become such good friends?" Fern tapped her two front claws together as though she were twiddling them.

Myste would have given her best friend a look that said "you're being ridiculous", but Fern was a firm believer in oral communication. "You're kidding, right? Phashindei is just another bat at Tree Haven. I'm not even sure if I would call him a friend."

"You seemed to be pretty chummy earlier. I hope you're not getting fond of him."

Myste nearly laughed aloud. This was getting more idiotic by the minute. "Hardly. I don't get why you're so suspicious."

Fern shifted uncomfortably on the roost. 'Uh oh, here it comes,' Myste said to herself.

"Well, I know it sounds silly, but... I really like Phashindei."

Myste faked her shock like a professional. "You?! Since when?"

"Well, it was during the migration last fall, at Stone Hold. He was just so... I don't know..." Fern was at a loss for words. Something that had never actually happened in her entire life. This must be serious.

Myste nodded. "Well, there's no need to worry. I won't get in the way of you and your future mate," she chuckled.

"Don't make fun. I'm really sure that he'll ask me before the next migration," Fern replied, a hurt expression on her face.

"Don't worry, I'll stay far out of the way." Myste half closed her eyes and then rolled them. Fern could be so dramatic and so annoying sometimes.

"You're sure?"

"Yes," Myste replied, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice. 'I wasn't even in the way!' she yelled inwardly. 'The nerve!'

Myste fell asleep wondering how her best friend could end up being so ridiculous. But, that was Fern.

_To be continued..._

_oooooooooooooooooooo_

_Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I must say, I'm extremely glad that I started writing __Shreds of Mist again, I never knew how much attention this story really needed._

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_This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and I really enjoyed adding in the last scene. This story really needed an overly-dramatic element. I hope you all enjoy it._

_Again, no flames, just critique._

_-Zealak Silverdirk_


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